In a judiciary precedence, the judicial investigator into Beirut Port blast, Tarek Al-Bitar, challenged the recusal decision issued against him upon the lawsuit filed by the families of the explosion’s victims, resuming his investigations into the case.

Thus, Tarek Bitar on Monday decided to resume his probe into the August 4 Beirut port explosion case following a 13-month suspension.

In this regard, Bitar has decided to press charges against eight new individuals, and agreed to release five detainees, who are: former customs chief Chafic Merhy, ex-operations director at the port Sami Hussein, contractor Salim Chebli, projects manager Michel Nahoul, and Syrian worker Ahmed Al-Rajab. All five were banned from traveling. 12 other detainees remain in custody.

Bitar said that his decision to return to work is based on legal provisions including article 357 of the Criminal Procedures Code.

Al-Bitar had issued arrest warrants against officials as well as military figures on an illogical basis, pushing the defendants and observers to cast doubts on his probe.

On August 4, 2020, a massive blast rocked Beirut Port blast, killing around 196 citizens and injuring over 6000 of others. The explosion also caused much destruction in the capital and its suburbs.

Source: Al-Manar English Website